Trevan Hetzel is a visual design engineer for appendTo and front-end/design freelancer. He When he’s not goofing off with his son or tackling home projects with his wife, Trevan gets his mind out of the code editor by firing up his dirt bike and hitting the motocross track.
Selling your services as a freelancer or a small shop is tough enough as it is. Selling to a small-town business that might not even see the need for a website adds an extra level of difficulty in turning a profit.
I’ve provided web design services to small-town businesses for the past few years, having had many happy outcomes, but also a lot of negative experiences from which I’ve learned hard lessons. One of the most important things I’ve learned is how to sell the value of the web. Many of my clients needed to be convinced that a website would actually be good for their business. A lot of them were almost naive about the web and about the impact and reach that a professional website and online strategy would have for their small business, even one whose target market lies within a 15-kilometer radius.
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